In thinking about: “The Working of the Spirit” Part 6

‘The Feast of the Visitation’ – The visible actors (see Luke 1:39-45) are Mary & Elizabeth, although Jesus & John the Baptist steal the scene. John leaps with joy in the womb of Elizabeth, who in turn, is filled with the Holy Spirit & addresses words of praise to Mary—words that echo down through the ages. Then comes the Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55).

One of the invocations in Mary’s litany is “Ark of the Covenant.” Like the Ark of the Covenant of old, Mary brings God’s presence into the lives of other people. As David danced before the Ark, John the Baptist leaps for joy. As the Ark helped to unite the 12 tribes of Israel by being placed in David’s capital, so Mary has the power to unite all in her Son.

1809 – Deathday of Austrian composer Franz Haydn

1819 – Birthday of Walt Whitman, American poet, essayist, & journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism & realism, often called the father of free verse. His work was very controversial in its time, particularly his poetry collection Leaves of Grass, which was described as obscene.

1942 – Deathday of Reinhard Heydrich, assinated in Prague. A high-ranking German Nazi official during World War II, one of the main architects of the Holocaust. Many historians regard him as the darkest figure in the Nazi elite; Adolf Hitler described him as “the man with the iron heart”.

1962 – Deathday of Adolf Eichman, a German Nazi SS, one of the major organisers of the Holocaust. Eichmann was working with Reinhard Heydrich facilitating & managing the logistics of mass deportation of Jews to extermination camps. In 1960, he was captured in Argentina by Mossad, Israel’s intelligence service. Following a widely publicized trial in Israel, he was found guilty of war crimes & hanged on this day in 1962.

After encountering the souls of Capesius & Strader meeting in the spiritual world after death, working out their joys & regrets – their sympathies & antipathies together, which effects everyone in their karmic group; we hear these words of Benedictus to end scene 9: “This is the moment when the evolution of the Earth can take a mighty step towards the possibilities that spiritual powers hold for it – or else fall into unmitigated darkness & catastrophe. Each individual soul is being tried now. How will they choose? “

After hearing that, Scene 10, feels ominous & full of foreboding. We enter into a clash of wills in the boardroom of Hilary’s factory. Knowing that many of the players in this ‘battle’ have been part of an occult brotherhood over many lifetimes, it’s discouraging to see them working at odds. But like Bernard Lievegoed says in “The Battle for the Soul” “…all development must occur at the right pace…The Ahrimanic powers want to accelerate everything…in order to prevent the human “I” from reaching a fully conscious relationship with new spiritual capacities. Ahriman wants I-less people, who do not have inner contact with things, but act automatically, in a mechanical society.”

In the meeting we hear that the financials are good, but everyone seems to have their own agendas, so instead of working together to meet the future using the will for the good of the all; fear, & politics “like the ringing of Pavlov’s bell” creates turmoil. When Benedictus, who was delayed, enters, we see him distressed & unwell, yet they continue to argue, until Bell suggests that perhaps they are all unclear as to what the principles of the Threefold Social Order are. When asked to give a quick picture, Benedictus is uncomfortable & seems uncertain, like the effort to speak is costing him great effort. He makes a start but cannot continue: “The demand of our times is that the social organism be brought into harmony with the basic principle of the human form. As society evolves, its three spheres need to become more & more visible as separate entities. Each realm has its own principles & ways of being. Only by becoming conscious & experiencing the ways of each can we evolve…if this is not done, there’ll be a vacuum…forces of destructive chaos will inevitably…” He abruptly leaves & the group grapples with much, including the malady of Flex, the loss of Capesius & what to do next.

I close for today with these words of Maria: “We are all one-sided, flawed individuals, & it could seem an impossible task to stand together in the ideals Benedictus has set before us. But the key question is: How can we carry each other’s one-sidedness in such a way that together we form a wholeness where each one feels empowered by the other?”